Peterson out of walking boot

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. - The Minnesota Vikings know who'll be giving the handoffs this week, even if they're not sure yet who'll be taking them.

Running back Adrian Peterson has shed the walking boot on his sprained right foot, but he wasn't ready for practice yesterday. He probably won't participate until tomorrow at the earliest, and coach Leslie Frazier said he's more optimistic about the condition of backup Toby Gerhart than he is with Peterson. Gerhart's hamstring injury likely will keep him from practicing until tomorrow.

Matt Cassel will start at quarterback again, though. That's settled for the week. Christian Ponder, cleared to play following his concussion, will be the backup. Cassel had 265 yards and two touchdowns passing in a turnover-free game at Baltimore, so he'll get another chance against the Eagles.

"He did a good job on the ballgame on Sunday. He's done a good job when he stepped in a backup role and had to finish games. I just decided to give this him opportunity to see if he can continue to build on some of the play that he had."

Josh Freeman, once the starting quarterback for Tampa Bay, signed for $2 million 2 months ago and still only 25, is stuck as the third-stringer. With three games left and the Vikings (3-9-1) eliminated from playoffs contention, they aren't any closer to figuring out who their quarterback will be in 2014 and beyond, but they've been competitive in all but a handful of games.